IEEE 802.
11ah: Advantages in Standards and
Further Challenges for Sub 1 GHz Wi-Fi
Stefan Aust
NEC Communication Systems, Ltd.,
1753 Shimonumabe, Nakahara-ku,
Kawasaki, Kanagawa 211-8666, Japan
e-mail: aust.st@ncos.nec.co.jp
Abstract—The rapid development in Internet-of-Things (IoT) and
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication make it necessary to
design communication systems operating in different wireless
spectrum as an alternative to highly congested wireless access
systems. In addition, the deployment of wireless smart meter
devices is ramping up and it is expected that such devices will
flood the market in the near future competing for the same
wireless spectrum. The IEEE 802.11ah standardization working
group is aiming for a global Wireless LAN (WLAN) standard
operating with carrier frequencies below 1GHz in the ISM
(Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band and will help to provide
Wi-Fi-enabled devices to get guaranteed access for short-term
transmissions in less congested frequency bands. In addition to
exploiting the underutilized Sub 1 GHz spectrum the improved
coverage range allows new applications to emerge such as wide
area based sensor networks, sensor backhaul systems and
potential Wi-Fi off-loading functions. This paper summarizes the
IEEE 802.11ah standardization activities in progress and
discusses advantages and challenges in the design of physical
layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) schemes.
Keywords: Sub 1GHz, IEEE 802.11ah, long-range Wi-Fi, smart
grid, IoT, M2M.
I. INTRODUCTION
It is widely accepted that the dominant indoor (wireless)
network is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard including IEEE
802.11 based indoor access points (APs) and stations (STAs)
such as laptops, printers, PDAs using wireless LAN (WLAN)
interfaces. Operating at 2.4GHz/5GHz this standard and its
amendments, such as 802.11a/b/g/n, allow unlicensed wireless
access in the ISM band (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) and
thus make it simple for Internet user to build up their own
wireless access network.
This widespread deployment of IEEE 802.11-based
wireless networks in indoor environments and also for urban
city deployments has led to dramatic interference problems and
network performance reduction where wireless Internet user
suffer from low speed or even network disruption.
Beside in indoor environments, so called Wi-Fi interfaces
can be found in various mobile devices such as tablet PCs, and
smart phones, thus increasing the competition for unlicensed
wireless access in the ISM band. Smart grid application,
R. R. Venkatesha Prasad,
Ignas G. M. M. Niemegeers
EEMCS, Delft University of Technology,
P.O. Box 5031, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands
e-mail: R.R.VenkateshaPrasad@tudelft.nl;
I.G.M.M.Niemegeers@tudelft.nl
Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
communication will further lead to saturated spectrum when
the same frequencies are being used, including Wi-Fi and IEEE
802.15.4-based communication systems.
Beside the successful deployment of IEEE 802.11 devices
in the 2.4GHz/5GHz frequency band, the design of RFID and
sensor networks operating at lower frequencies such as
900MHz ISM took a niche in the development of wireless
systems. With the rapid demand for unlicensed, ubiquitous
access in less-interfered frequency bands, the 900MHz ISM
bands have kindled new attraction not only in the research
domain but also in standardization. The target is to define a
global WLAN standard that operates at ISM frequencies below
1GHz. For instance, in the United States, Europe and Japan,
such frequencies are available, however a standard has not been
available yet that utilizes such frequencies.
The new task group (TG) at the IEEE 802 standardization
organization aims to create a WLAN standard for PHY and
MAC that operates at frequencies below 1GHz. The so-called
Sub 1GHz WLAN system is under current standardization in
the IEEE 802.11ah group. In the following, we are going to
reflect on the advantages and challenges of a Sub 1GHz
WLAN system.
To the best of our knowledge there has been less focus and
studies on Sub1GHz WLANs. In [1] the authors argue that the
scope of 802.11ah is to enhance the MAC and PHY design to
operate in the license-exempt bands below 1 GHz. For smart
grid and smart utility communications the authors discuss the
advantages of access in TV frequency bands. However the
access to the so-called TV white-space is outside of the scope
of IEEE 802.11ah (the operation of WLAN in the TV white
space is being standardized by the IEEE 802.11af group). We
then refer to our earlier work in Sub 1 GHz WLAN in [2] and
[3]. Use cases and scenarios for using Sub 1GHz frequency
bands has been discussed in [2] and we identified smart grid,
surveillance and smart farming as main applications in rural
areas. In addition, link budget and outage probabilities have
been discussed in [2] In [3] we outlined the required PHY
design of Sub 1GHz systems and argued that the proposed
IEEE 802.11ah path-loss design for outdoor Sub 1GHz is too
optimistic and may require a larger number access points (pico-
cells) in an outdoor deployment scenario when using WLANs
operating at carrier frequencies around 900MHz. We refer the
reader to the official project site of 802.11ah [4] for further
information about project description of Sub 1GHz
standardization. In the following we will give further insight
into the development of a global Sub 1GHz ISM WLAN
system and also what lies ahead and enlist many challenges and
issue thereof.
This paper is organized as follows: In Section II the
advantages of using Sub 1 GHz frequency band is discussed.
IEEE 802.11ah use cases are explained in Section III. IEEE
802.11ah standardization challenges are dealt with in Section
IV. We conclude in Section V.
II. ADVANTAGES OF STANDARDIZED SUB 1GHZ WLANS
Even though Wi-Fi is standardized for the 2 – 5 GHz
frequency range, there is non-standard modified Wi-Fi
equipment available that operates in the 900 MHz ISM
band. As for now, various vendors take the core technology,
e.g., 802.11a, and change the frequency. The demand for a
standardized Sub 1GHz WLAN comes, in part, from the smart
grid community, who like it for linking to smart meters because
of the band’s greater range and lower obstruction losses. A
problem, though, has been lack of interoperability. Each vendor
has its own implementation, and smart grid customers don’t
want to be tied to one vendor.
The IEEE Standards Association’s Standards Board
approved a request by IEEE 802 Working Group 802.11 to
start a project that will amend the IEEE 802.11 standard to
include Sub 1 GHz operation. This project, under new Task
Group 802.11ah, does not include TV white space frequencies,
which is being handled under Task Group 802.11af. The most
important contribution of this amendment is to establish
standard RF channel width and center frequencies. Because
802.11 is an international standard, global frequency allocation
schemes will be considered.
Fig. 1: Advantages of a standardized Sub 1 GHz Wi-Fi system
IEEE 802.11ah offers a variety of advantages, such as
simple to use in outdoor environments in addition to excellent
propagation characteristics of low frequencies [5] and different
levels of installation scenarios (license-exempt, light licensing,
professional/interference reduced). High sensitivity and link
margin are further characteristics of IEEE 802.11ah. In addition,
long battery life and energy saving strategies will be integral
part of the IEEE 802.11ah standard. Details are shown in Fig.1.
In the following we outline the main advantages of a
standardized Sub 1GHz WLAN:
 Optimal propagation characteristic of below 1GHz
license-exempt frequency bands.
 Use of ISM frequency bands.
 License-exempt in various different countries.
 Easy to understand, follow and to implement for
network device manufacturers.
 Almost clear co-existence issues.
 Longer range and less power consume due to optimal
frequency characteristics (below 1GHz).
 No license problems, no regulatory issues.
 Vendors can be sure about their products/markets.
 Enrichment of wireless communication devices, e.g.,
IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ah.
III. IEEE 802.11AH USE CASES
This section provides an overview of the use cases that
have been adopted by the IEEE 802.11ah task group. We also
refer to additional use cases to further motivate the usability of
the future IEEE 802.11ah standard that is not in the standard as
yet. The following discussion on use cases provides a
comprehensive picture about the advantages of using Sub 1
GHz bands in various domains and scenarios.
A. Sensor networks
The IEEE 802.11 has sensor networks as one of three
adopted use cases. Sensing can be executed as short-term data
transmissions and includes smart metering such as gas, water
and power consumption [6]. Wireless controlled power
distribution systems are also covered by this use case. Due to
the increased penetration at lower frequencies, a higher number
of sensors can be covered in one-hop fashion. Fig. 2 shows a
simple smart grid scenario where IEEE 802.11ah is applied
(Sub 1 GHz AP and wireless meter stations).
Fig. 2: Smart grid wireless communication network use case for outdoor Sub
1GHz WLANs.
B. Backhaul networks for Sensors
The second use case covers the backhaul connection
between sensors and/or data collectors and remote servers. The
large coverage of Sub 1 GHz allows a simple network design to
link Sub 1GHz APs together, e.g., as wireless mesh networks.
Fig. 3 shows a backhaul sensor network, including IEEE
802.11ah APs and router/gateways to connected sensor
networks (IEEE 802.15.4g).
Fig. 3: Backhaul network for sensor networks
C. Extended Wi-Fi Range for Cellular Traffic Off-loading
The third use case considers technical requirements for a
Wi-Fi based cellular traffic offloading in 802.11ah. It is
important that the technology used for off-loading has at least
comparable performance to the cellular system being offloaded
both from the user as well as the operator perspectives.
Therefore, it is essential to consider what kind of spectral
efficiency, user throughput, and system load the current and
future cellular networks can and will support, and based on that,
consider the performance requirements for 802.11ah.
Although it can be easily understood that a large coverage
may be utilized for off-loading, some may argue that user
expectations can be easily covered by existing wireless
standards such as IEEE 802.11n. If the performance is not
sufficient or if the 802.11ah offloading provides only marginal
gains and no real additional value for the end user, the
offloading might not be successful and operators and end users
may prefer the existing solutions e.g. 802.11n and 802.11ac at
5GHz or utilization of cellular network.
Next, we outline additional use cases and scenarios for
IEEE 802.11ah.
D. Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication
The future IEEE 802.11ah standard has been found as an
optimal candidate as wireless communication system for
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication. Wireless M2M
communication allows data transfer for direct machine to
machine communication with little or no human interaction [7].
Whereas current systems are optimized more for human-to-
human (H2H) communications, IEEE 802.11ah standard will
mainly consider sensing applications.
Due to all the different M2M standards activities happening
in various standardization organizations, IEEE 802.11ah could
play an important role in providing a base for a global M2M
wireless standard, which some entities consider as a precursor
of cloud computing [8]. This includes smart metering, fleet
management, security sensing, and on-demand business-
charging applications. IEEE 802.11ah will address required
functions such as low power consumption, large number of
devices, long-range and short-burst data transmissions.
E. Rural communication (connecting the unconnected)
Wireless communication in rural areas such as outback
areas has lead to some effort that is also named as “connecting
the unconnected”. Large potential is given by Sub 1 GHz due
to the wider range [9]. E-health and e-learning are main killer
applications in such environments and it has been argued that a
positive impact on social economics including the GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) growth can occur [10].
IV. IEEE 802.11AH STANDARDIZATION CHALLENGES
A. IEEE 802.11ah project target and time line
IEEE Standards Board approved the Sub 1 GHz 802.11
(Wi-Fi) Project in November 2010. The sponsor ballot is
expected for spring 2013. The project target is specified in the
PAR as listed under [4]. Since November 2010 the time line
has been extended several times mainly to allow consensus
within the standardization group, e.g., for use case
identification, optimal PHY channelization, and requirements
on the MAC design.
B. Requirements on IEEE 802.11ah PHY design
Future IEEE 802.11ah standardized devices will operate as
a MIMO-OFDM (Multi Input Multi Output Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing) wireless system at different
Sub 1 GHz ISM bands which are available in various countries,
including United States, South Korea, China, Europe, Japan,
Singapore. In the following we outline the adopted and
proposed channelization for IEEE 802.11ah.
The US channelization has been one of the most discussed
channelization for IEEE 802.11ah. This is due to the fact that
the US allows up to 16MHz bandwidth between 902MHz and
928MHz. Fig. 4 depicts the proposed US bandwidth, including
1, 2, 4, 8, and 16MHz. It is less attractive for vendors having
small bandwidth at 1MHz. However, 1 MHz and 2 MHz have
been adopted as least channel bandwidth for IEEE 802.11ah.
The standardization group thus needs to support 1MHz for US
and all other countries which are under discussion in IEEE
802.11ah. A compromise would be a link adaptation scheme
which will allow 1MHz/2MHz operation when STAs are
outside of AP coverage.
Fig. 4: Proposed (not yet adopted) Sub 1GHz channelization for US
In Fig. 5 the adopted channelization for South Korea is
shown, starting from 917.5MHz and 923.5MHz. 6 channels at
1MHz bandwidth are adopted. In addition, 3 channels at 2MHz
and 1 channel at 4MHz bandwidth will be available for IEEE
802.11ah in Korea. The reason for the 0.5 MHz frequency off-
set is to reduce possible mutual interference with wireless
legacy systems at lower frequencies.

Fig. 5: Adopted Sub 1GHz channelization for Korea
In Fig. 6 the adopted channelization for Japan is presented,
starting at 916.5MHz until 927.5MHz. Also the Japanese
channelization starts with 0.5MHz off-set [11]. This is due to
the fact that the Japanese spectrum regulation specifies center
frequencies instead of start/stop bands such as in other
countries, e.g., US or Europe.
Fig. 6: Adopted Sub 1GHz channelization for Japan
Fig. 7 shows the adopted channelization for Europe,
starting at 863MHz and ends at 868MHz. 5 channels with
1MHz bandwidth are available. In addition 2 channels with 2
MHz bandwidth are adopted.
Fig. 7: Adopted Sub 1GHz channelization for Europe
The adopted channelization for China is shown in Fig. 8,
starting at 755MHz and ends at 787MHz. Frequencies between
755MHz to 779MHz will allow a max. sending power at 5mW.
Between 779MHz and 787MHz, max. 10mW are allowed. In
the higher frequency regime 4 channels with 2MHz, 2 channels
with 4MHz and 1 channel with 8MHz are approved. It is worth
to note that most of the Sub 1GHz frequencies in China are
used by TV broadcast stations, thus make it inappropriate to
adopted such frequencies for IEEE 802.11ah.
Fig. 8: Adopted 1GHz channelization for China
In Fig. 9 the proposed channelization for Singapore is
shown. It starts from 920MHz and ends at 925MHz including 5
channels with 1MHz bandwidth.
Fig. 9: Proposed (not yet adopted) 1GHz channelization for Singapore
C. Sub 1GHz related Regulatory Requirements and IEEE
802.15.4d Co-existence in the case of Japan
The use of the 950 MHz band (950 MHz to 956 MHz) for
LR-WPAN (Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks) has
only been recently allocated by the Japanese Regulatory
committee. The Japanese regulation includes requirements to
address coexistence for devices operating in the Sub 1GHz
band, e.g., Listen Before Talk, Transmission Control and Duty
Cycle restrictions. However, two PHYs specified for use in the
950 MHz band, such as IEEE 802.15.4d and IEEE 802.11ah
can potentially cause interference to each other. Together with
the short duration (burst nature) of 802.15.4 packets and the use
of CSMA-CA, coexistence is not considered to be a problem
for the two PHYs when they share a common channel [11].
The regulation requires that a device uses listen before talk
(LBT) prior to transmission if the duty cycle of transmission
exceeds 0.1%. There is also a requirement that a device does
not continuously transmit. The maximum continuous
transmission time and the duty cycle of transmission are
dependent on the LBT duration. The parameters
macTxControlActiveDuration & macTxControlPauseDuration
permit a higher layer to control both the duration for which a
device may transmit and the duration of the pause period, i.e.
the time during which the MAC must pause to allow other
devices access to the channel. These values are dependent on
the transmission power and channel and should be discussed
during the IEEE 802.11ah standardization process.
D. IEEE 802.11ah path loss models
IEEE 802.11ah path loss models for indoor have been
outlined and discussed in [3]. The basic assumption is a path
loss model for AP-to-STA communication separated for indoor
and outdoor environments [12]. In addition multi-floor and
STA-to-STA path loss models are being discussed. Fig. 10
shows a typical STA-to-STA path loss scenario. The two
stations operate in AP-to-STA communication, thus mutual
interference between the STAs occur when transmitting in
same locations.
Fig. 10: Path loss model in a STA-to-STA communication scenario
E. Enhanced Coverage Extension through Repetition
IEEE 802.11ah aims to widen the coverage for outdoor
WLANs and future Wi-Fi certified devices. Using carrier
frequencies in the Sub 1 GHz easily achieve such a goal due to
the excellent propagation characteristic of lower frequencies.
However, further improvement of coverage and link budget
performance can be achieved using repetition in addition. IEEE
802.11ah adopted to use repetition as part of the IEEE 802.11
PHY for coverage improvements. Different repetition models
have been discussed, e.g., 2-times and 4-times repetition. For
instance, different Modulation and Coding Schemes (MCS) are
being proposed for IEEE 802.11ah. MCS0-rep (1MHz) is 6 dB
higher than MCS0 (2MHz) thus it will provide larger coverage
compared to non-repetition based communication. Based on
the IEEE 802.11ah path loss model [3], the range covered by
MCS0-rep2 (1MHz) would be 1.45 times higher than MCS0
for 2MHz bandwidth. More than half of the coverage area is
covered by MCS0-rep2. In the case of remote access with less
coverage, the AP will use MCS0-rep2 in significant portion of
time to reach stations in the Area 2, as shown in Fig. 11.
Fig. 11: Impact on coverage range for different replication scenarios
Fig. 11 shows an example for indoor coverage of 1MHz
BSS (Basic Service Set) over 2MHz BSS. The assumption is a
path loss exponent with 36.7. The sensitivity improvement is
given at 6dB. The assumed indoor coverage leads to 1.45 times
higher coverage when using MCS0-rep2 at 1MHz.
Fig. 12 shows outdoor coverage of 1MHz BSS over 2MHz
BSS. The assumption is a distance exponent path loss at 37.6.
The sensitivity improvement is given at 6dB. The assumed
outdoor coverage leads to 1.74 times higher coverage when
using MCS-rep2 at 1MHz.
Fig. 12: Impact on coverage range for different replication scenarios
F. Requirements on IEEE 802.11ah MAC design
The IEEE 802.11ah MAC design will support the adopted
PHY channelization and repetition modes. Furthermore, the
MAC design has to consider a large number of associated
STAs and alternative DCF (Distributed Coordination Function)
methods for guaranteed media access. In addition, a contention-
free MAC design is considered for IEEE 802.11ah for large
number of stations, e.g., thousands of STAs, which are
essential requirements for M2M and IoT wireless applications.
Due to the adopted use cases, power efficiency for sensor
devices will be a required feature that needs to be considered in
the IEEE 802.11ah MAC design. Power efficiency proposals
include the integration of IEEE 802.11v power saving features
and ultra-low power consumption strategies, such as Radio-on-
Demand (ROD) for IEEE 802.11ah.
V. CONCLUSIONS
With the rapid deployment of smart meter systems, IoT and
M2M applications the demand for guaranteed short-term
wireless access becomes a challenging task when using current
frequency bands. IEEE 802.11ah is an answer to this problem
and will define wireless access of Wi-Fi enabled devices in the
Sub 1 GHz ISM band in various countries, including US,
Europe, Japan, China and Korea. Operating at carrier
frequencies below 1 GHz such devices are able to exploit a
larger coverage area and high penetration. To this effect, this
paper presents the advances of the standardization of Sub 1
GHz WLANs and at the same time it discusses the challenges
that need to be addressed so that the emerging IEEE 802.11ah
standard will efficiently define an extended PHY and MAC
allowing wireless transmission in the Sub 1GHz ISM band.
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